Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 8.720-8.970 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 8.750. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.4 billion-$9.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $9.4 billion. Quest Diagnostics also updated its FY24 guidance to $8.72-$8.97 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.25.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.8 %

DGX traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $137.76. 616,988 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,843. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.03. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $148.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.